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NEWS & STORIES

Our supporters

Relief for those caught in crisis. Water where there was drought. Communities equipped with the skills and knowledge to help themselves. Campaigning that challenges injustice and the root causes of poverty.

Lives changed. All made possible in 2012 by supporters with big hearts and one united voice.

It’s thanks to you that we can achieve so much... from taking the lead in Ireland by responding to the West Africa food crisis to showing politicians North and South why women’s rights must be put at the heart of the international agenda through our Ending Poverty Starts with Women campaign.

We have also continued our work with people affected by the 2011 East Africa food crisis in Kenya and Somalia, along with responding the escalating situation in the Democratic Republic of Congo, where we are currently providing water, sanitation, food and cash transfer to local communities and those who have fled their homes to escape the terrible conflict.

AVOVE: Supporters at festivals for our campaign on women's rights. RIGHT: Sharon Corr visits Tanzania with Oxfam to support the same campaign and to raise awareness about the issues that women face.

Our team in Tanzania is reaching hundreds of thousands of people with the We Can campaign, which tackles the attitudes and behaviours that permit violence against women and encourages ordinary people to become change-makers in their local communities, recruiting others to do the same. This is just one of many incredible initiatives taking place in the 94 countries where we work around the world.

Our success in helping people affected by poverty and injustice to change their lives for the better would be impossible without the support of people like you.

On behalf of all the team at Oxfam Ireland, we wish you a very Happy New Year.

Christmas is the time of giving but when times are tough it can be hard to see past the problems at home.

Yet people across the island of Ireland are renowned for their generosity. Despite difficult economic circumstances, our supporters in the Republic of Ireland and Northern Ireland appreciate the struggle to survive faced by millions overseas.

In fact, Ireland ranked second place in last year’s World Giving Index – up from third spot in 2010.

Whatever your wishes this Christmas and your hopes for the New Year, there are many around the world who have much less to look forward to in 2013. People whose wishes – and needs – will be much more basic.

Mothers, for instance, caught up in a food crisis who wish they could ensure their children don’t go hungry. Or for clean water not contaminated with deadly diseases from the nearby stagnant pool. Or for a future that offers hope – a chance to provide for their family and educate their children.

TOP-LEFT: “Oxfam has really helped us. I never imagined that I’d be able to do all this.”

Rubenia Santos (pictured to the left), a female farmer in Honduras who has been taught how to grow crops on a cyclical basis so she always has enough to eat and sell at the local market. Gary Henry/Oxfam

TOP-RIGHT:

People gather at a water point in South Sudan. Hygiene promoter Olivia Awaya says: “We suffered a lot when we used to walk to get water. It was far and the water brought lots of disease. Now we can get clean water, fewer people are getting sick.” Caroline Gluck/Oxfam

BOTTOM:

Bayush Kassan (left) and Belaynesh Hussen are part of an Oxfam-supported cooperative of 31 women in Ethiopia who collectively own land on which they farm vegetables. They’ve turned their seed crops into seed oil thanks to a new seed-crushing machine. Bayush explains: “We used to harvest, carry and sell 5kgs of seeds for around 6birr (29c/23p). Now we could get twice as much.” Tom Pietrasik/Oxfam

This Christmas, we’d like to ask for your help in granting the three things most of us are able to take for granted this Christmas.

Food

More than 18 million people in West Africa are facing desperate food shortages this Christmas.

Water

On the 25th December, 4,000 children will die of diarrhoea caused by dirty water.

A future

Today, 72 million children in the developing world are going without a basic education.

Together, we can provide clean water for children to drink, help hungry families grow the food they’re desperate for and offer hardworking people the change of a future free from the stranglehold of poverty.

The tree is up, the letters to Santa sent and the mince pies are in the oven, now it’s just those presents to sort out…

This Saturday marks the traditional Christmas shopping day of December 8th and whether you like to join the crowds in town, shop online or by telephone, it’s never been easier to pick up an Oxfam Unwrapped gift this festive season –simply call into one of our 51 shops across the island, visit our online store www.oxfamireland.org or phone 1850 30 40 55 (Republic of Ireland) or 0800 0 30 40 55 (Northern Ireland).

It only takes a moment to buy an Oxfam Unwrapped gift, but it can change a life forever.

We’ve asked some of our furry friends to explain why they should be picked as Oxfam Unwrapped gifts this Christmas (warning: this video may contain cute animals).

All our Oxfam Unwrapped animals are locally sourced in the countries where they’re needed to ensure they don’t travel long distances to get to those who receive them. They are also vaccinated and given to families who get training on how to best care for them. In fact, we source every gift locally wherever possible to help boost the economy in communities affected by poverty.

Along with our incredible animals including A Clutch of Chicks (€13/£10), A Donkey (€47/£38) or a Piglet (€35/£28), we have lots of other gifts to suit everyone this Christmas, from DIY fanatics (they can Fix a Well €28/£23 or set up a Solar Panel €32/£26) to teachers (School Books €18/£15 and Educate a Girl €30/£24) and foodies (Feed a Family €29/£23).

Whether you’re looking for a Kris Kindle present for under €10/£10 (Mosquito Net €5/£4 and Drought-resistant Seeds €7/£6) or are raising money together with your school, group, company or club to buy a large-scale gift like Water for a Community (€1,000/£809), the result is the same – lives transformed for the better.

You can also help the youngest member of the family when emergency strikes by providing Breakfast for a Child (€10/£8) for orphans in South Africa, or support the training of nurses and midwives in Ghana with the Care for Mums (€20/£16) gift to ensure thousands of mums and mums-to-be get the help, expertise and support they deserve.

Some of the brand new presents this Christmas include the Girl Power (€14/£11) gift funding projects empowering women to stand up for their rights and tackle domestic violence (also part our Ending Poverty Starts with Women campaign), Literacy Classes (€49/£40) that unlock life-changing opportunities by training adult literacy teachers and A Small Loan (€70/£57) that help start-up businesses get the investment they need to create new job opportunities.

When you purchase an Oxfam Unwrapped gift, your donation will fund projects that your gift represents in countries like Malawi, Zimbabwe, the Democratic of Congo, Rwanda, Sudan, Mozambique, Tanzania, Uganda and South Africa, helping communities to build a brighter future. Find out more about Oxfam Unwrapped here.

And you’ll also receive a beautiful 2013 Oxfam Ireland calendar with every purchase to remind you every day of how you’re making a difference.

Our 51 shops across the island of Ireland are busy hosting events to spread some festive cheer and showcase our Oxfam Unwrapped gift range, which is available in every store. Drop in, we’d love to see you!

For gift card delivery before Christmas, order by Monday December 17th if buying gifts using the form attached to the Oxfam Unwrapped catalogue or by Wednesday December 19th if you’re buying online www.oxfamireland.org/unwrapped or by phone (RoI: 1850 30 40 55 / NI: 0800 0 30 40 55).

And if you find yourself stuck at the last minute on Christmas Eve or receive an unexpected present during the festive season, you can buy an Oxfam Unwrapped ecard in a super fast time at our easy-to-use online store www.oxfamireland.org/unwrapped.

Since we launched Oxfam Unwrapped nine years ago, people north and south have truly embraced the spirit of Christmas by giving more than 140,000 life-changing gifts and raising over €4 million/£3 million. This has helped to improve the lives of more than 500,000 people affected by poverty and injustice around the world.

LOL for Oxfam! We've organised two comedy gigs in Dublin in December where you can tickle your funny bone while raising vital funds for our work with communities affected by poverty around the world.
Cast members from RTÉ's hit satire The Savage Eye make up the stellar line-up, so come, laugh and help transform lives with the likes of Patrick McDonnell, James Goldsbury and Foil Arms and Hog.

Tickets for each gig cost just €10 and are available in advance from the Oxfam Ireland office by calling (01) 635 0406 or on the door at the venues. Funds raised will be donated to Oxfam Ireland to help people affected by poverty build a brighter future.

The line-up…

John Colleary

John is one of the stars of The Savage Eye and is currently involved in the fourth series. He has recently won the PPI Radio award for best satirical comedy.

James Goldsbury

James is a regular on the Irish and English comedy circuits having performed at the Kilkenny Cat Laughs, Kinsale Comedy Festival, Carlsberg Comedy Festival and The Electric Picnic comedy tent. He has also written and starred in Headweckers (part of Channel 4's comedy lab season) as well as The Savage Eye.

Foil Arms and Hog

This comedy trio presents wickedly twisted characters, unpredictable scenes and high energy performances. They’ve appeared on TV in The Savage Eye and at live festivals including Kilkenny Cat Laughs, The Electric Picnic comedy tent and The Vodafone Comedy Festival.

Dermot McMorrow

Dermot has written for and performed in all four series of The Savage Eye. He is the founder of the ‘Save the Snail Society’ and is currently writing 'Mannequins for Dummies’.

Patrick McDonnell

Patrick has been standing up and making people laugh since 1996. He co-wrote and performed two series of the O Show for BBC Radio 4 and appeared in a number of short films – Solomon I, Swag, Stephanie Knows Who and Mebollix –and the feature film Separation Anxiety. His television appearances as a stand-up include The Empire Laughs Back for BBC N.I. and RTÉ’s The Lounge.

He played Eoin McLove in Father Ted and over the last decade TV appearances include Stew, Don’t Feed the Gondolas, Val Falvey TD, The Savage Eye and the IFTA award-winner Naked Camera. He has most recently appeared in Moone Boy on Sky One.

Willie White

Des Bishop gave Willie his big break on his Joy in the Hood TV series. He’s also starred in The Savage Eye and established himself as a regular at comedy clubs and festivals nationwide.

To get your ticket for these brilliant comedy events, call (01) 635 0406 or buy them on door at the venues

No matter which ones you choose, each gift you buy supports our vital work from emergency responses to advocacy projects. And you’ll also receive a free 2013 calendar to show how your support is making a real difference around the world.

Since our Oxfam Unwrapped gifts launched 10 years ago, people across the island of Ireland have given more than 140,000 life-changing gifts and at the same time helped to improve the lives of over half a million people affected by poverty in countries like Tanzania and Malawi.

Unwrapped gifts can be purchased online, in your local Oxfam shop, by post and by phone (1850 30 40 55 in the Republic of Ireland or 0800 0 30 40 55 in Northern Ireland).

So how does it all work?

When you buy an Oxfam Unwrapped gift, you’re creating a better future for people like Fatimata in Mali.

In her village of Intadeynen, lack of rain is making food and water scarce – and keeping kids out of school. But by working with mums like Fatimata, we are tackling all three of these problems together thanks to your support. Providing a good meal in school (€10/£8) is a great incentive to get kids into class.

Many children miss school in order to fetch water for their family. So we helped build new water pumps (€25/£20) to save travelling time and effort. Plus having water on tap means the school has plenty for irrigating their allotment. Fatimata and the other mums know how important education is. And the success of their garden in providing meals and having clean water has meant more parents can send their children to school.

“We knew that without one decent meal a day, some children would not be able to come to school. We are proud that we have made a success of our vegetable garden.”